From April 2015 it is proposed that people will still be able to take a tax-free lump sum of up to 25% of the value of the pensions pot (as per current rules), however any cash taken over the 25% tax-free amount will be taxed at the person’s marginal tax rate and no longer at 55%.

Also, from 27 March, the amount the member can drawdown each year will be increased from 120% to 150% of an equivalent annuity (that is, the amount an annuity would have paid out in that year).

In order to be allowed to ’drawdown’ from a pension, DC members will have to be earning at least £12,000 a year. This is down from the current £20,000 a year income limit.

Gail Philippart, principal at Mercer, said that these changes could have an impact on pensions administration.

“If lots of people want to take their money out gradually, rather than all in one go, lots of pension schemes don’t have that facility at the moment,” she added.

“The systems will need developing and/or the organisations that are paying the expenses of the scheme might have to pay more for the administration.”

The age at which they can do this will increase from 55 to 57 in 2028.

“Having read the weekend papers we were expecting a Budget that was light on pensions, but that was a false dawn.

“The Budget has promised the most far reaching reform of taxation on pension schemes since 1921. It’s not quite a radical as the promise would suggest, but much more flexible than the current arrangements.

“The Chancellor has promised to remove all restrictions on how a pension fund is taken at retirement saying: ‘We will legislate to remove all remaining tax restrictions on how pensioners have access to their pension pots. Pensioners will have complete freedom to draw down as much or as little of their pension pot as they want, anytime they want. No caps. No drawdown limits. Let me be clear. No one will have to buy an annuity.’

“The following rules will apply:

DC scheme members will be able to take their pension fund as a lump sum, drawdown or an annuity.
The age at which a member can take their pension will be increased from 55 to 57 in 2028, to tie in with the increase to state pension age.
A lump sum of 25% will still be available. Any extra taken as a lump sum will not be charged at the penal rate of 55% as it is currently, but at the member’s marginal rate.
The guaranteed income requirement for flexible drawdown will fall from £20,000 to £12,000.
The capped drawdown limit will increase from 120% to 150% (compared to the value of an annuity).
There will be an increase in the size of the single small pension pot that can be taken as a lump sums at age 60 from £2,000 to £10,000 (and an increase in the number of pension pots that can be taken in this way from two to three).
The trivial commutation limit will increase from £18,000 to £30,000.
“The new rules will come into force next week on 27 March 2014. Initially the new rules will apply to defined contribution or DC pension schemes only – with a consultation promised on defined benefit or DB schemes shortly, presumably because of the difficulty in implementing these arrangements in the DB context.

Reforming income drawdown rules is long overdue. It will make pensions more flexible and attractive. Income drawdown accounts for about 15% of the UK’s £11 billion annuity market and these changes will make it much more widespread. About 400,000 people buy an annuity every year and many could increase their retirement income by about 15% a year using income drawdown. Giving people free advice at the point they make retirement decisions is an excellent idea.

The industry has been calling for pensioners‘ income flexibility and choice at retirement to be widened, however the scale of the announcements in today’s Budget could not have been anticipated.

It is unprecedented for changes of this scale to be implemented, particularly in such short timescales, without consultation.

All pension scheme providers will have to make immediate changes to their systems to account for the immediate changes to the pension regime, effective from 27 March 2014.

The potential impact of the reduction in the minimum income requirement to £12,000 per annum is likely to result in many more people taking their whole pension fund early, with the consequence of an increased reliance on state benefits.

While these reforms appear be the bedrock of a new, more flexible pension system in the UK it will take some time for the industry to fully digest their impact.

Today’s wide-ranging reforms of the UK savings and pensions regime have the potential to provide the simplicity, choice and flexibility for savers we have been calling for.

Pensions are now an even more attractive choice for savers than they were before. Whether customers are in the process of saving, or about to make decisions about their retirement income, they will now have greater control of their money. We will now work with advisers and customers to help them understand and make the most of these changes.

The Budget turns the world of pension savings upside down. With almost unrestricted access to pension pots in future, this will radically affect the way today’s workforce saves for tomorrow. From limited choices, individuals now have greater flexibility to decide how they save for the future, but with more decisions to be made, comes more responsibility and greater risk.

In the immediate term, this will lead to a knowledge gap. People will be trusted to make the right decision for themselves, but the truth is that employers, employees and pension schemes and providers must work together to develop new approaches that help individuals make the right decisions.

The Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) welcomes the new flexibility that DC pension savers will have, reforms along the lines the ACA has called for over the last year. Clearly, we need to examine the Budget papers in some detail, but, for example, it will be important that DC members already in ‘lifestyle’ strategies who are on a path towards annuity purchase don’t get stuck in inappropriate assets.

And, of course, we need to examine just who will pay for the ‘free’ guidance advice to those approaching retirement. We will be responding to the consultation document, which acknowledges the proposed reforms will also have implications for defined benefit scheme members.

Today’s announcement is perplexing. Automatic enrolment, one of the largest and most successful reforms of workplace pensions ever seen, was introduced to encourage people to make good financial decisions about their retirement, because experience tells us that people are often ill-informed and make poor decisions about financial planning for old age.

On the one hand, the idea that savers can take their pension as a lump sum, albeit subject to tax, may be an incentive to save. However, this choice brings with it a significant burden of responsibility for individuals to understand the choices they are making. We know this is not always the case as people often underestimate how long they will live and overestimate how long their pot will last.

It is concerning that there appears to be little robust modelling to reassure us the government has understood the risk that a number of people will run through their pension pots far too quickly. We fear these reforms, without careful scrutiny, will leave a large swathe of people vulnerable to poverty in old age.

Real surprises in Budgets are rare, but [yesterday’s] announcements mean a whole new ball game for DC pensions. This is clearly welcome news for members because they will get greater flexibility to manage their finances. However, it may have unexpected consequences.

On the one hand, we applaud the government’s intention to free up choice and flexibility for members, but on the other, it is clear that is going to be up to the industry to make these changes happen. The government has not advised on how all this can be achieved nor suggested ways in which the obvious difficulties can be surmounted. Clearly, there will be a key role for trustees and employers as well as providers beause there will now be increased responsibility on them in this new retirement marketplace.

“Flexibility comes with risks and responsibilities – members may outlive their funds and become dependent on the £7,500 a year State Pension.

On pensions, what’s important is that people on low incomes can make more informed decisions on defined contribution schemes. For many, that will still mean taking advice and buying an annuity, but the increased flexibility will be welcomed. In the long-term, greater flexibility might encourage people to save more for their pensions.

We are pleased that the government has chosen to consult on the implications of making a similar change to defined benefit pensions as stability for these schemes is essential.

The government has responded to calls for a more open drawdown regime and gone much further than people expected by allowing unlimited access on the grounds that state pension provision should provide a sufficient living wage in retirement. Let’s hope this change is here for the long term: in five years the government will have altered drawdown four times, which is quite a record.

Freeing up people’s drawdown pots will bring down costs and allow more holistic planning in retirement, which should be good news for pension savers. It will also deal with the discrepancy whereby middle-ground savers are locked in, yet low savers or high savers have been able to freely access their pensions via trivial commutation or flexible drawdown respectively.

If uncapped drawdown is being brought in, then let’s simplify things by getting rid of the farcical second lifetime allowance test at age 75. This is complex to explain and everyone can avoid it by drawing any excess growth prior to age 75 anyway. Hopefully the Finance Bill will deal with some of this detail.

We have clients who are earning more in interest, perhaps from property rents, than they are allowed to draw under their capped drawdown plan. They will be very happy being able to draw as much as they want. It will also address those in ill-health who could draw more under an enhanced annuity than under normal drawdown, and will mean that scheme pension under Ssass and Sipps is no longer needed as a route to drawing higher pension. Those drawing a scheme pension from a Ssas or Sipp (rather than using drawdown) should lobby to be able to transfer into this new version of drawdown.

There’s been confusion about increasing the capped rate while at the same time introducing flexible drawdown for everyone. This is because the rules are being relaxed temporarily until 6 April 2015 when the uncapped drawdown rules are introduced. Until then – from 27 March 2014 – maximum drawdown rates will increase to 150% of annuity rates and flexible drawdown will be available for those with secure pension income of just £12,000.

This interim step seems a little unnecessary. Other than placating pensioners a year earlier, it seems to add extra complication for little gain. Pension providers will have to update documentation that they know will have a limited shelf life and issue revised drawdown certificates, and advisers may have to revisit drawdown advice for one year only.

Finally, hidden away is the increase in minimum pension age from 55 to 57 from 2028 with minimum pension age being linked to state pension age going forward. There have been calls for earlier access to pensions, to help stem the flow of those wanting to liberate their pensions. This goes against those calls, but the change is a long way hence. In the meantime, those desperate for extra money will be able to draw extra legitimately from their pension scheme once they reach age 55 (or earlier on ill-health). I wonder if there will be a flow of ill-health requests as a means of liberating pensions.

The changes to pensions and annuity rules announced by the Chancellor are likely to transform the UK’s retirement market. Providers will initially see profitability squeezed as people are no longer forced to buy annuities but, in the long-term, savings levels are likely to rise as consumers recognise they have more flexibility when it comes to planning their retirement.

Increasing to £10,000 the size of a single pension pot that can be taken as a lump sum, removing the requirement to buy an annuity and substantially increasing Isa limits will make long-term retirement saving more attractive for people who are saving small amounts for their retirement.

A typical pension fund is only £25,000 and many consumers have been discouraged from saving for retirement due to the problems of accessing these savings. Giving them more options makes long-term saving more attractive. As a result, we would expect to see much more innovation in the retirement market.

In one move, the UK has made pension savings dramatically more attractive by offering complete flexibility in drawing on your savings when you reach age 55. The tax incentives for saving in to a pension scheme still remain and this change means there’s no longer onerous restrictions on drawing down your pension savings. The UK has also adopted more flexibility for smaller pension pots, a welcome move by savers and pension administrators alike.

The Chancellor announced some of the most significant changes to the retirement marketplace ever. The main changes won’t come in to force until 2015 and some people might be considering delaying their retirement until then, to benefit from the increased flexibility and control.

But Standard Life believes drawdown will help to bridge the gap and put people in a strong position. By using drawdown, they can take an income that supports their needs in retirement, while ensuring their pension pot remains invested. Then, when the pension rules change, they can then review their strategy. The flexibility and choice offered by income drawdown allows them to do that.

This added flexibility also brings more responsibility. People will need professional help to think about where they invest their money, how they can use this flexibility while having a long term sustainable income and how they minimise their tax.

While it is positive to see the increased flexibility around pensions at retirement, there will be concerns around individuals potentially, and recklessly, spending their money, if they are able to take it all in a lump sum. This is even more heightened by the fact that, today, the average pension pot stands at circa £36,000, according to the ABI. And, it could
lead to greater numbers relying on the state at a later age.

While it is widely acknowledged that annuities aren’t perfect, they do provide a regular and sustainable income – it could be dangerous, when we live in a culture where many people ‘spend today and don’t worry about tomorrow’, to make it easier for people to access their pension funds and take it all as a lump sum.

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